[brooksby]

Picture a busy road in the centre of Bristol.

One lane of motor traffic each way, and the council has put up wands to protect painted cycle lanes.

“To protect painted cycle lanes”

So why does some quite large and middle-aged gentleman on a huge f-ing motorcycle (like I imagine a Harley looks like) think its now acceptable to ‘jump’ the queue of motor traffic by riding his wannabe Hog along the shiny new protected cycle lane?   

Topic

[bruce15nr]

Well, they always say

Well, they always say something like that. But if we talk about motorcycles already, let me show you one website where you can get all the necessary stuff for your motorcycle riding trips ( here: https://motorbikeguy.com ). It has opened my eyes on different things like glasses, long trip clothes and bluetooth intercoms.

[hawkinspeter]

I just threw up in mouth a

I just threw up in mouth a little searching for this image

[Compact Corned Beef]

Oh come on, they’re

Oh come on, they’re magnificent! Like cadillacs on two wheels. I was touring on my motorbike in Bruges (like a f*cking fairytale…) a few years back and a Goldwing club tipped up at the same hotel. Some even had matching pinted/chromed trailers. Utterly absurd, but brilliant.

[hawkinspeter]

Slightly off-topic, but the

Slightly off-topic, but the pop-up lane by the BRI is probably the most hazardous. As it’s nicely downhill it’s tempting to pick up speed, but there tends to be a lot of peds around there and they can step into the cycle lane if they’re passing each other. Also, there’s the motor vehicles turning into the hospital itself or looking to park that may or may not be looking out for cyclists so it’s well worth being vigilant around that specific area.

[hawkinspeter]

OldRidgeback wrote:

As a motorcyclist myself (as well as cyclist) I can tell you that Harley riders aren’t much liked by other riders as a rule. They have an attitude that they’re on Harleys and are therefore proper bikers somehow, despite the fact that so many only ever ride out in fair weather at the weekend on their shiny toys.

Never mind the Harleys, how about a bit of hate for Goldwings? A reverse gear on a motorbike?

[bikeman01]

Seperate point – these popup

Seperate point – these popup lanes are usually in one direction only. Is the idea that motorists get their own back by close passing and abusing cyclists on the other side ot the road? Or are we supposed to get off, cross the road and cycle against the flow?

[OldRidgeback]

As a motorcyclist myself (as

As a motorcyclist myself (as well as cyclist) I can tell you that Harley riders aren’t much liked by other riders as a rule. They have an attitude that they’re on Harleys and are therefore proper bikers somehow, despite the fact that so many only ever ride out in fair weather at the weekend on their shiny toys.

[OldRidgeback]

As a cyclist and motorcyclist

As a cyclist and motorcyclist I stay out of cycle lanes denoted by an unbroken white line if I’m on my motorbike. When filtering I often encounter cyclists and will nod them ahead if they’re in front. I don’t mind bimbling along behind them on my motorbike as we’re all trying to get ahead and there’s no point in blasting past stopped cars at speed as that’s just not safe. A bicycle can squeeze through a gap my Suzuki can’t after all.

When riding either a bicycle or otorbike I do get really annoyed by scooter riders. Their riding standards can be appalling and they’ll sometimes cut me up on my big Suzuki (darting from the inside to the outside of the lane) because they’re unaware of the danger of having a much heavier motorcycle pile into them from behind. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been left swearing at ****ing scooter riders. I don’t mean the older mods on classic Vespas or Lambrettas, I mean the young riders (lads 99% of the time) zipping around on twist and go scoots, riding at 90% capacity everywhere without any regard for anyone else on the road.

[hawkinspeter]

I don’t mind them using lanes

I don’t mind them using lanes if they’re empty and they don’t block cyclists. I’ve seen a few using the non-pop-up white paint lanes over the years but it’s quite rare. I’ve had more issues with motorcyclists in the ASL block when they want to turn left and I’m there on their left but not had any collision.

I most often encounter motorcyclists when filtering between 2 lanes of stationary traffic and then there’s the conundrum of who should go first. As a cyclist, I can squeeze through smaller gaps but the biker can go quicker so I usually motion for them to go first unless I can see that they won’t be able to progress very far.

[Rendel Harris]

hirsute wrote:

I think it must happen a lot in London. I rarely visit but had one in front of me on a CS.

Never seen a “proper” biker in one but Deliveroo/Just Eat/Uber Eats moped riders, all the time.

[Hirsute]

I think it must happen a lot

I think it must happen a lot in London. I rarely visit but had one in front of me on a CS.

[Bmblbzzz]

I sadly expect the official

I sadly expect the official response in absence of photo evidence would be “We take this sort of thing very seriously.” An oaken staff would be much more fun. 

[brooksby]

I’ve seen him go past a

I’ve seen him go past a couple of times already today – definitely just one bloke (now I’m actually paying attention rather than going “Meh! Motorbike…”).

Part of me would like to try and get his registration number and report him to – er – someone; part of me wants to just stand out there with an oaken staff and cry, “You shall not pass!”.

[Bmblbzzz]

Got to be the same bloke then

Got to be the same bloke then, as the one I saw was also on a motorbike of the generally Harley type. Which at least is better than it being several people. 

[brooksby]

Yup. That’s the one.

Yup. That’s the one.

[Author]

Replies